


Stop the World

by ezrastarkiller



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: (brief) - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Prom, Romance, School Dances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:07:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29493306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ezrastarkiller/pseuds/ezrastarkiller
Summary: Billy Hargrove’s Camaro revs into the parking lot with Max in the passenger seat, and as he spots Steve he feels compelled to speak to him, with him, whatever, he just knows he needs to say something. His gut wrenches horribly when, in a strange moment of repentance, Billy feels sorry for what he did to Steve. Suddenly he needs to let him know that he’s sorry.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 4
Kudos: 78
Collections: Harringrove Week of Love





	Stop the World

**Author's Note:**

> prompt fill for harringrove week of love – day 4: school dance! this little ficlet has been living inside my brain for months and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to share it with the lovely harringrove fandom 💘

After spotting Nancy at the Snowball, Steve gets out of his car to lean against the side of the middle school just to take a moment to feel sorry for himself.

Billy Hargrove’s Camaro revs into the parking lot with Max in the passenger seat, and as he spots Steve he feels compelled to speak to him, with him, whatever, he just knows he needs to say something. His gut wrenches horribly when, in a strange moment of repentance, Billy feels _sorry_ for what he did to Steve. Suddenly he needs to let him know that he’s sorry.

When Steve sees him he flinches, mostly ‘cause he’s startled. Also ‘cause he’s still got a yellowed bruise around his eye that his mother’s concealer barely hides, and his jaw hasn’t felt quite right since that November night. But Billy holds his hands up like he’s not gonna pummel Steve (again).

They stare at each other for a minute. Steve’s eyes are huge.

“I just, uh—” Billy starts, then stops and sucks his teeth. _He’s usually so good with words._ The width of Harrington’s eyes makes him nervous or something. All bug eyed and creepy. “Look man, I shouldn’t have done what I did.” He glances at Steve for a quick second before immediately looking away, sniffing and setting his focus on some nondescript car in the parking lot. “I’m sorry.”

Steve doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t say anything some more, and still, Billy won’t look at him; instead, his fidgeting fingers search for his cigarettes. He pops one between his lips and fumbles with his lighter, but the inhale is so relieving it’s like Steve Harrington _isn’t_ there, making him squirm.

Then, Steve laughs. No, he chuckles. Just the ghost of a laugh, something like amusement or maybe resignation on his face when Billy decides to man up and fucking look at him.

It’s a mistake of course, because even though Billy was clearly the winner of their altercation (before Max knocked him on his ass, that is), Harrington landed a few good punches which must’ve scrambled his brain up real good. Because apparently all he can think is _damn._ No substantial observations or anything, just _damn_ because Steve is grinning at him like he doesn’t loathe him, hate his guts. Billy, stupid and suddenly giddy — _crushing_ , for fuck’s sake — lets out a hideously incriminating _giggle_.

“I’m being serious,” he feels his face go bright red and is thankful for the dark. “What're you laughing for?”

Steve laughs again, more open this time, and Billy is quick to stare at his feet, puffing on his cigarette like it’s life or death.

“It’s just—” Steve starts, shaking his head in disbelief. “I shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore.”

Billy doesn’t know what to say to that, so he just lets the smoke roll from his mouth.

It’s silent between them for a moment; The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” thumps into the cold night. Then Steve reaches his hand out, wiggling his fingers and catching Billy’s eye.

“You mind?”

Oh, the ways Billy could answer that. He decides to hand his cigarette over, though, and does not think about how Steve’s mouth will touch the same filter as his.

Steve takes a long drag. “You know, as long as you stop trying to give me a concussion, I think we’ll be good.”

Billy considers his apology half-accepted. He might have to make up that other half. He doesn’t mind.

“I’ll do my best.”

—

Billy _does_ do his best. In fact, they’re pretty much best friends come the new year (neither understand how, exactly, it all happened).

Somehow, this sort of symbiotic relationship forms when Billy stops “trying to give Steve a concussion” (although he was never really _trying_ to, as he’s insisted to Steve on multiple occasions). Billy stops hanging around Tommy and those goons, and is even a little bit nicer to Max. They swap stories and memories. They laugh together, a lot. On a whim, Billy shows him a photograph of his mother and regrets it for only a second because Steve looks between the photograph and Billy’s face when he says, “You guys have the same smile.” Steve laments over the fact that he never had a dog growing up, and Billy tries to make him feel better about it (“They’re more high maintenance than _you,_ Harrington”). They spend nearly every minute together, after that night at the Snowball. Catching a movie at the Hawk or grabbing dinner at the diner — they'll even go to parties together, sometimes, though they usually prefer to stay at Steve’s and smoke, both falling asleep on the couch to some movie they weren’t paying attention to. Billy goes to Steve’s baseball games in the spring, every single one. He wants to whoop and holler, but decides it’s not the best idea; _some_ Hawkins natives are not so blind and would see through him in an instant. So he cheers silently from the bleachers, his hands tightened to fists in his pockets every time Steve strikes someone out. Steve always spots him from the mound; he tips his hat just so, in a way they made up, in a secret language they created, and winks at him. He tries not to stare at Steve after his games, all sweat slick and dirty, the lights glowing all around him. Tries to pry his eyes from Steve’s legs, his _ass_ in those baseball pants. They usually end up at Steve’s after a game, where they swim and knock back a couple beers. Steve often asks about the bruises, the marks. Billy deflects every time, and every time, Steve grows more determined to know the truth. Steve teaches him the proper way to swing a bat, standing behind Billy, who grips the nail-studded bat that Steve saved Max and her friends with. Steve touches his hip, guiding Billy’s movement, and Billy knows he’s a goner. Steve stresses about college and applies for a job at Scoops Ahoy. Billy lands a lifeguard position at the community pool. Steve dares him to get a tattoo on a particularly hazy night. Their touches linger. Steve looks at him a lot more than usual. At prom, Billy is crowned King. Steve makes a mental note to never let him live it down (to add insult to injury, he asks Jonathan for the photo he snapped of Billy up there, plastic crown atop his head). Steve doesn’t know where his date ends up, but he hopes she’s with the guy she’s been trying to bone all semester (“His name is _Todd_ and he’s so _studious”_ ). He bursts out laughing when Billy saunters up to him looking unenthused, crown crooked as it sits on his curls. They escape outside where they share a cigarette, ambling across the parking lot, music fading behind them. They sneak into the middle school gym and shoot around for a good half hour before returning to the high school, to their fucking senior prom, except Steve gets this idea in his head and he grabs Billy by the arm before thinking it through. They slip into the boys’ locker room and Billy laughs, out of breath.

“What’s the matter, Stevie?” To the undiscerning ear, the nickname might sound patronizing. But they both know better, and they both know that _Stevie_ means _there’s something between us but it’s so fragile that pointing it out might shatter it._

Steve shrugs and his heart thumps wildly in his chest. Billy’s bow tie is crooked. “Just… don’t wanna be with anyone else yet.”

That certainly came out more sincere than Steve’s pride wanted it to.

Billy cocks his head and grins _in that way_ , the way that gets Steve all flushed and squirming. He leans into Steve’s space, smelling like smoke and cologne and hairspray. He twirls the plastic crown in his hands while Steve, without knowing any better, reaches up and fixes Billy’s bow tie. Neither of them breathe. All that’s heard is the distant sound of Robbie Grey humming to the bridge in “I Melt With You,” and Billy’s placing the crown on Steve’s head. He wears a smile like he’s not worried about anything, and Steve realizes that he loves him. And that he can no longer stand it. So, he pulls Billy close and kisses him just as the music resumes, promising to stop the world. They keep kissing when the song ends and another begins, and they stay like that for the next several songs, until they pull away, breathless and flushed.

Billy grins at him. “You wanna get out of here?”

Instead of answering, Steve takes Billy’s hand and together they slip away from the school, their only trace being the crown they dispose of at the center of the basketball court.


End file.
